First off Hi everyone Im new to the forums and new to the Fish keeping hobby.

A little Background

I have 2 tanks at the moment. My first was a 16 gallon I bought for my 6 year old daughter for her birthday. While setting this tank up for my daughter I did alot of Learning and really fell in love with fish keeping. I kept reading and hearing about Convict Cichlids and there fascinating breeding behaviors combined with the fact that they are pretty resilient fish. So when my friend offered me a very nice 40 gallon tank and stand for free I decided to get a pair of Convicts.

So I now have nicely set up 40 gallon tank with caves and and plants for my fish to hide. I bought a pair of Convicts and they are doing great together. My main question / concern is what to do when they start having fry. I would like to find a fish to put in the tank with the pair that will eat most of if not all of the fry so I dont have to bother getting rid of them. I wouldnt mind giving a few survivors to pet stores or friends as pets but I dont want to have 50-200 fry every month to deal with. I know these fish are notorious for harming other fish. So im looking for a fish that can hold his own and will munch on some convict fry. Any suggestions?

Fishin Pole

03-11-2010 03:16 PM

in my experience i would say no to any other fish in with your convicts in a 40 gallon, if your planning on letting them breed...In fact, it would be a good idea to have another tank for the female after she gives birth......The male will usually harrass her to death soon after giving birth to try and breed again.She will be very vunerable and weak, and it usually doesnt end well for her..........a larger tank, or another tank would be best to guarantee the survival of her and any fry they produce...........Hope this helps and good luck!......They breed like rabbits!

beetlebz

03-11-2010 04:20 PM

did you buy a pair of them or did you buy them as a pair? what im asking is, are they male and female or just two convicts?

Eleggett

03-11-2010 07:06 PM

Well the good news is on closer inspection I think I have 2 females. Both have some orange on there bellys. The orange was just harder to see in the bigger darker convict.

However the Bigger of the 2 is constantly chasing the smaller one around the tank. Would 2 females do this ?

iamntbatman

03-12-2010 03:45 AM

Sure will. Convicts are very grumpy fish.

As for your original question, I don't think there's anything that's going to fit the bill. Convicts are very protective parents. I can't think of any fish that could fit in the tank that would be so motivated to eat fry as to withstand the adults. Fry-eating fish would be chased off or killed.

DC88

03-15-2010 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamntbatman
(Post 342802)

Sure will. Convicts are very grumpy fish.

As for your original question, I don't think there's anything that's going to fit the bill. Convicts are very protective parents. I can't think of any fish that could fit in the tank that would be so motivated to eat fry as to withstand the adults. Fry-eating fish would be chased off or killed.

First off Hi everyone Im new to the forums and new to the Fish keeping hobby.

A little Background

I have 2 tanks at the moment. My first was a 16 gallon I bought for my 6 year old daughter for her birthday. While setting this tank up for my daughter I did alot of Learning and really fell in love with fish keeping. I kept reading and hearing about Convict Cichlids and there fascinating breeding behaviors combined with the fact that they are pretty resilient fish. So when my friend offered me a very nice 40 gallon tank and stand for free I decided to get a pair of Convicts.

So I now have nicely set up 40 gallon tank with caves and and plants for my fish to hide. I bought a pair of Convicts and they are doing great together. My main question / concern is what to do when they start having fry. I would like to find a fish to put in the tank with the pair that will eat most of if not all of the fry so I dont have to bother getting rid of them. I wouldnt mind giving a few survivors to pet stores or friends as pets but I dont want to have 50-200 fry every month to deal with. I know these fish are notorious for harming other fish. So im looking for a fish that can hold his own and will munch on some convict fry. Any suggestions?

Well, before you go out and buy a Cichlid-munching monster, you should make sure your cichlids are male and female. The Male should be slightly bigger, darker, and have longer fins. The female should have a little bit or red or orange on the belly and have a generally smaller figure.

So, let's say that your cichlids are male and female. Don't think you can just put an aggressive fish in there and the cichlids will let it eat their young. Convicts will guard their offspring very aggressively. You shouldn't have a male and female if you don't want babies.

herbwin

04-18-2010 10:13 PM

If you want a fry eater, I think some type of predatory catfish might fit the bill, but nothing fragile. A larger sized Raphael might be good. Make sure it has somewhere to hide. The parents will keep it away during the day, but when the lights go out, all bets are off :)

What is in your other tank, will they eat fry? It would be easy to remove unwanted fry with a siphon.Posted via Mobile Device